


Black Friday

by The_Chronicler



Category: Blue Bloods (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-30
Updated: 2017-11-30
Packaged: 2019-02-08 16:20:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12868359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Chronicler/pseuds/The_Chronicler
Summary: Terrorists take a New York mall hostage on the busiest shopping day of the year and the Regan Family is right in the middle of it!





	Black Friday

**Author's Note:**

> Be warned: my first Blue Bloods fanfic. 
> 
> I've been chewing on this one for a year or so now. Hope it catches folks attention.
> 
> FYI: Desperate for feedback.
> 
> ~~ The Chronicler

Blue Bloods: Black Friday  
By The Chronicler  
===========

~~Prologue~~

It was a cold morning. Frost had crystalized the world, leaving the windows framed in white and sprinkled the store front planters with icy diamonds. The street below shimmered with black ice and steam floated up from grates in the walk like smoke from chimneys. The dark sky was crystal clear, the air sharp in the lungs. 

Frost was something Abdul still couldn’t quite grasp. It turned the world shades of shivering greys. A world that was already shades of grey concrete and steel and inorganic life. 

He missed the bright colors of his home land: yellows and reds and oranges and greens and purples and golds and blues and whites and silvers and….

Abdul sighed and took a sip of his tea. He glanced at the silent men slowly rising and moving about the living room of the apartment, before gazing out the window again.

Despite the early 4am chill, the little shops up and down the street below were bustling with activity. Window painters were putting last minute touches to their big Christmas murals. Bag boys and owners’ sons were sprinkling the sidewalks with rock salt. Arabian Coffee was trying to find the best place for his “Free Signature Coffee with every $50 Order” sidewalk sign where it would best block the view of his neighbor’s “Free Dz. Cookies with every $50 Order” sign. Street hustlers were already snatching up their corners and laying out their goods. Turban wearing men with long beards hurried to display bundles of silk cloth in front of their shop while, across the street, Istanbul Suits was steaming their display jackets in the window. 

Everyone from every corner of the world, no matter their nationality or religion, was rushing about, preparing for their Black Friday opening. Godless Capitalism at its finest!

And around the neighborhood, in apartments just like this one, his men were preparing as well. Preparing their MP5s, filling pockets with ammo and grenades, kneeling in prayer….

Abdul wrapped his cold fingers around his hot mug and ground his teeth. He did miss the warmth and color of home. But, as Allah would have it, home was so far away, yet had been never so close.

======

“This sucks!” Eddie grumbled and not for the first time that morning.

Jamie tried to hide his grin behind his coffee mug, knowing far too well not to dare the dreaded question. 

Unfortunately for the entire room’s occupants, one rookie didn’t know far enough. Rookie Officer Rahim Stewart dared “What sucks?”

There was a collective groan. Even the mall’s civilian security gave a groan. Young, innocent Stewart glanced around at his companions with a confused look. The older officers quickly found somewhere else to look.

Eddie, on the other hand, had no problem what so ever clarifying what sucked for the rookie. “What sucks? What doesn’t suck?” she began her now infamous tirade. “First: the Rangers lost! How could they lose?! Really?! Second: they started the damn Christmas jingles like, what? Half second pass midnight?! I swear my clock read 12:00:01! Then it’s cold as hell out there! Cold as hell and we don’t even get snow! And that really sucks! Third…”

“Fourth.” Jamie mumbled the correction before practically leaping out of reach.

“Shut it, Reagan!” Eddie snapped, before continuing with “Fourth: Not even open for another thirty minutes and the parking lot is over flowing, with faces pressed up against the windows and doors! Fifth: already had to roust a drunk Santa out of the Ladies room! Already!” She held up a hand. “And sixth, but betting a million it won’t be the last, in thirty minutes we are going to be mowed down by a couple hundred sales crazed, bargain hunters ready to commit manslaughter just to save that extra twenty cents on that big screen TV that they don’t even have room for! And all this the day after they all sat down together to give thanks for what they have!”

“But…” Stewart glanced around, confused about all the frantic head shaking and mouthed “NOOOOOOO!” from the elder officers. “Don’t the Rangers always lose? I mean…. Well, don’t they kinda… well, suck?”

Eddie’s eyes went so big there were some quickly whispered bets on whether or not she was actually gonna pop them right out of her head at him. 

But before her vengeance could be sought, Sargent Tony Renzulli walked between the two of them, snatching and dragging his rookie off to a safe distance. “Now, now, Jenko, where’s your Christmas spirit?”

“Right where it belongs!” came Eddie’s sharp retort. “In December!”

That was answered with a few chuckles and “Amen” from around the room.

“Well, just jump in your DeLorean and haul it back!” the Sargent ordered. When all he got were confused looks and shrugs he cried “You know! DeLorean! From Back to the Future?!”

A few more shrugs and blank stares.

Rezulli looked heavenward. “You see that? Heathens! They’re a bunch of backwards, uneducated, heathen Grinches!” he complained to the All Mighty. With a disgusted snort, he turned his attention back to the task at hand. “Okay, boys and girls, welcome to Black Friday, mall edition.” 

======

Dr. Reynolds looked over her small army of nurses: a whole four!  
And two of them were fresh noobs!

At least the other two were old veterans of the shopping wars: “Big John” Jabari, a huge African American with hands the size of Volvas, a deep rumbling voice, and a vast array of Pokemon covering his scrubs, a pediatrics’ nurse; And Linda Reagan, small, blond, and trauma tough ER nurse who could be everyone’s loving mother and most dreaded drill Sargent all rolled into one.

All they had to do was get through the first hour.

Every ER in the city was waiting for that first hour.

Black Friday stampedes!

“Love thy neighbor, but run his slow ass down if he gets between you and the bargain of the season.”

Big John snorted, and Linda’s eyebrows rose as she wondered “What was that, Susanna?” 

Dr. Reynolds jerked her eyes about. “Oh? Was that out loud?”

Linda gave her that smile that every good mother had learned early on; the one that said she was gonna let that one go, ‘cause she knew bigger, badder crimes were yet to come.

“Anyway…” Reynolds gave a nod to Linda, giving her the floor. After all, any army of nurses with Linda involved was, in truth, Linda’s army.

Linda clapped her hands, calling everyone’s attention. “First hour will be triage. Even if there is no stampede, there will be shoving and pushing and other such fine examples of Christmas spirit.”

“Think Santa should switch from ‘ho, ho, ho’ to ‘ow, ow, ow’?” suggested AJ Weston, one of the noobs.

Big John’s very big hand came to rest on the younger man’s shoulder, stifling the interruption.

“Do not!” Linda continued sternly, a tone that left no room for argument. “Do not try to pull someone free from the press yourself! That is what the police and security are for. Our job is to treat, not rescue!” She paused to get a confirmation from each and every one of them, including Dr. Reynolds. “Once the initial rush has passed, there are three aid stations. We’ll man those with occasional walk abouts. AJ, you’re with me at the South entrance. Karen, you and John have the North entrance. Dr. Reynolds will be at the main aid station and information booth at the center of the mall by the elevators.” She shook her finger at each of them. “Remember: keep your signs out on your booths. We do not dispense any medications. If they have a headache, direct them to Dollar Tree of a bottle of aspirin. We have bottle water, Gatorade, and band aids.”

“What if we get someone who needs more?” Karen wanted to know.

“Call me.” Reynolds answered. “I have a kit in my booth, locked securely in the office. If we need more than that, we call an ambulance.”

“Use the walkies.” Linda reminded everyone of the mall supplied gear by waving hers. “And only use channel 3. Everything else is for the mall’s communications.” She looked at Dr. Reynolds. “That covers the short and the long of it, so…”

“Have fun, everyone.” Reynolds offered with a doubtful smile.

Big John huffed, adding “And don’t get between the crazies and a bargain!”

“God forbid, don’t do that!” 

======

Home Land Security had their own way of doing things. They kept their own counsel. Kept their own secrets. Kept their own laws. Kept their own badge toting army. They saw themselves, often enough, as the sole guardians of the very ideals of the United States of America, and any and everyone else, despite their uniforms, as nothing but interference, obstacles, and/or even enemies. And they were more than willing and able to step all over those civil liberties in order to protect them.

So, when New York Police Commissioner Frank Regan heard a HSI Special Agent wanted to see him, he didn’t hesitate. He didn’t even look at the clock. 

Not like he was sleeping anyway. 

Baker, bright eyed and ready as always, was waiting for him with a steaming cup of and an armload of files.

Frank was tempted to ask if she actually lived at the 1PP, maybe a little bed roll hidden in a desk drawer.  
Did she even sleep?

As he took a welcoming sip of the coffee, he looked at her with that expectant look.

Baker didn’t disappoint. “HSI Special Agent Smith.” She said the name with raised eyebrows. “Is rather eager to speak with you and, as he calls it, your war counsel.”

Regan raised an eyebrow himself. “Is he now?” He started for his office door, asking over his shoulder “Do I have a war counsel, Baker?”

“We don’t call it that, sir.” She answered, quickly moving to get the door for him. “We prefer something more civilian friendly such as Office of Chief of Departments.”

Frank smirked. “Ah. I do recall something along those lines. And they are…?”

“In the war room, sir, waiting for the coffee to kick in.”

The Commissioner finally glanced at the clock.

5am.

“Better call down for a lot more coffee, Baker.”

This time Baker smirked. “Yes, sir. Already on the way, sir.”

Garret was waiting for him inside the office, doing his best to look very stern at the man in a three-piece suit who was doing his own great imitation of a glaring gargoyle. When he saw his boss step in, Garret was quick to rise up and make the introductions: “Here we are. Agent Smith, may I introduce Commissioner Re…”

Smith was already crossing the room, coming right at Frank with a no nonsense “Your city is under attack!” 

Frank stiffened. Despite the three-piece suit, he recognized a soldier when he saw one.

Garret was a bit more shocked by the first words he heard from the stranger. “Attack?” came a near squeak. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?!”

Smith ignored the man, his complete focus on the Commissioner. “You need to listen to me. If you don’t mobilize your anti-terrorist units now, people are going to die!”

When Garret opened his mouth again, the slightest eye flicker from Regan silenced him. He sat back down again, snapping his mouth shut.

Frank Regan raised his chin, his eyes narrowed slightly as he studied the man a moment longer. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Alright. I’m listening.”

======

Danny Regan opened the door, practically shoving his sons in ahead of him. “Yo, Pops! You up?”

“Shhhh!” was hissed at him from the couch.

Danny smirked at his niece as she tried to snuggle back under the wing of her coat, snatching at those last few winks of sleep. “Boys, food!” he ordered, turning his sons by the shoulders, directing them toward the kitchen. Then he leaned over the back of the couch and tugged on Nicki’s coat until he could see her disheveled hair and squeezed shut eyes. “Hey, you eaten?”

She groaned. 

“Where’s Pops?”

Another groan.

“Are you ready for this?”

And, yet, another groan.

Danny chuckled. “Yea, I hear ya, kid. Come on. Coffee does a body good.” He encouraged with a little push. 

This time the groan sounded a bit more like a growl.

His chuckle turned into a full laugh as he headed for the kitchen. His grandfather was already up and about, directing Jack and Sean in the making of portable breakfast. “Morning, Pops.” Danny greeted, reaching over Jack’s shoulder to swipe his Eggo.

“Hey!” the teenager protested. “Leggo my Eggo!” 

Danny made a great show of tearing into the waffle with his teeth. 

Jack rolled his eyes before claiming another Eggo from the package.

Danny turned his attention back to Henry Regan. “So, what’s the plan, Pops?”

“Black Friday shopping!” Henry answered, pouring a mug of coffee and handing it over to his grandson. 

“Let the Christmas Games begin.” Jack whooped.

Sean grinned, adding an accented “May the odds ever be in your favor.” 

Henry huffed, giving the boys a glare. “Well, if we survive that, then we’ll meet up with Linda for lunch, then back home for some decking of the ol’ halls.” He glanced at the kitchen door. “That is if our chauffeur ever regains consciousness.”

“Yea, saw her on the couch. Good luck with that.” Danny offered.

“I thought girls were supposed to like shopping.” Sean wondered.

Again Henry huffed.

Danny grinned at his youngest. “Yea, well, Nicki’s at that delicate age where the girl in her is at war with the college student.” He explained. “See, girls do love shopping. But college students love to…”

“Sleep.” Henry inserted the same time Jack said “Protest.”

“Yup… both!” Danny finished.

“Both?” Sean looked confused.

Henry took over the explanation. “By sleeping, she’s protesting getting up at this godforsaken hour.”

Jack gave that an approving nod. “I could get behind that protest.”

“Me too!” Sean was quick to add, emphasizing his support with a yawn.

Danny chuckled, reaching out to lovingly ruffle his youngest’s curls. “Me three.” 

“We could have gone even earlier.” Jack pointed out. “A lot of places opened yesterday. And folks were camping outside the strip mall down by our school.”

Sean nodded. “They had tents and everything! One guy actually had a tv and bar-b-q like it was some tailgate party or something…” He was sounding excited at the possibilities. 

“No sale is worth camping out on a sidewalk at thirty degrees.” Danny assured. 

“And I already fought one war. Sure as hell not going to do it again just to be the first one through the doors.” Henry growled. But then he frowned. “Is there any news about how the door opening went?”

Danny shrugged. “No stampedes. Pushing and shoving and name calling, yes. But no riot.” He shared a look with his grandfather, both silent about their worries for Linda and Jamie. “Worse is over.”

“Humph!” Henry’s eyes narrowed. “You wanna go shopping with us?”

Danny’s eyes actually went big.

And then his cellphone rang.

“Oh, darn, work. You guys have fun! And, remember, boys: Mom! Slippers, footbath, you get the idea.” Danny excused himself before even looking to see who was calling, escaping back out to the living room. 

Henry glanced at his great grandsons. “I never thought I would see the day that that man would run from something.” he admitted.

In the living room, Danny took a moment to look at his phone. He frowned. “One PP?”

“Everything okay, Uncle Danny?”

He glanced down at Nicki who had managed to actually sit up and look somewhat awake and a little concern. He quickly flashed a smile. “Yea. Yea, no worries. Go get some breakfast. And coffee!” was his advise before heading out the door.


End file.
